CherryTree vs TreeSheets
We give CherryTree and TreeSheets the same GPA: 3.4 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CherryTree
Hierarchical desktop notes with rich text and code highlighting
Free
TreeSheets
Open-source hierarchical spreadsheet for free-form notes and data
Free
How we grade them
| 3.4GPACherryTreeVery good | 3.4GPATreeSheetsVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt's free software under the GPL, version 3 or later. Every download on the project page costs nothing, and the only money mentioned is a link to a donation page. | AFree and open source under the zlib licence. Every build is a free download from the project's GitHub releases, and there's no paid edition. |
| Free plan and trial | AAll of it is free: the Windows installer and portable archive, the Linux packages and the macOS installer. There's no paid tier to hold anything back. | AThe full app is free on Windows, macOS and Linux, with nothing kept back. |
| Features | BNested nodes, rich text, code with syntax highlighting, images, embedded files, LaTeX equations and find and replace across the whole tree. Solid. But tables only hold plain text, there's no sync of its own on the listing, and the online manual is described as old and discontinued. | BAny cell can hold its own sub-grid to any depth, and the mouse wheel zooms into nested ones. Cells resize after every edit, images can sit in cells, and pasting indented text rebuilds it as a tree. Clever. But each cell is one line of text, and files are .cts, so other software needs an XML, HTML or text export. |
| Ease of use | BInstall it, make a document and start adding nodes. There's no App Store rating on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. Don't lean on the manual, which the project page calls old and discontinued. | BNo rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. It's rows and columns, like a spreadsheet. One snag: the written tutorial on the website is marked as out of date, and the current one is a document that opens inside the app. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac and Linux, with a portable Windows build and Linux packages from PPA to Flatpak and Snap. There's no official mobile app. The project page points to SourCherry, a third-party Android project, and the listing shows no integrations. | BWindows, macOS and Linux, with Debian packages, AppImages and a Flatpak on Linux. The project lists no mobile or web version. |
| Best for | a free notes tree that lives in one file | plans and brainstorms that outgrow a flat outline |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CherryTree and TreeSheets. How we grade
Where they differ
- CherryTree is free. TreeSheets is free.
In commonFree planWindowsmacOSLinuxOpen sourceLocal-firstNotes
At a glance
| CherryTree | TreeSheets | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free software under the GNU GPL version 3 or later. Every download on the project page is free; the site only links to a donation page. | Free and open source under the zlib license. Every build is a free download from the project's GitHub releases, and there is no paid edition. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Giuseppe Penone and Evgenii Gurianov | Wouter van Oortmerssen |
| Price read from | giuspen.net | strlen.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
CherryTree
- Keeping structured notes and code snippets in one local file
- Linux, Windows and macOS users who want the same notebook app on each
- Moving notes out of older outliners such as KeepNote, Tomboy or Zim
TreeSheets
- Brainstorming and planning that outgrows a flat outline
- People who want structure in two dimensions, not just indentation
- Desktop users who want a small, fast organizer on any major OS
Worth knowing
CherryTree
- There is no official mobile app; the project page points to SourCherry, a third-party Android project.
- Password protection is available only for single-file storage, and an unprotected copy is extracted to a temporary folder while the document is open.
- Tables are limited to cells of plain text.
- The project page describes the online user manual as old and discontinued.
TreeSheets
- Desktop only: builds are offered for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the project lists no mobile or web version.
- Each cell is edited as a single line of text with optional word wrap, so it does not work like a rich text editor.
- The written tutorial on the website is marked as out of date; the current one is a document that opens inside the app.
- Documents are saved as .cts files, so using the data in other software means exporting to XML, HTML or text.
Key features
CherryTree
- Tree of nodes
- Notes are nodes that nest to any depth and can be rearranged by drag and drop. Text and images can link to other nodes, anchors, files, folders and web pages.
- Rich text and code
- Rich text nodes sit alongside code nodes and codeboxes with syntax highlighting, and code can be run through a configurable terminal command.
- Images, tables, files and math
- Inserts images that can be resized and rotated, simple tables with CSV import and export, embedded files and rendered LaTeX equations.
- Single-file or multi-file storage
- A document is one XML or SQLite file, or a set of files and directories. Single-file documents can be password protected using 7-Zip.
- Import and export
- Imports HTML, plain text and files from apps such as KeepNote, Zim, Tomboy, NoteCase and KeyNote, and exports to HTML, plain text and PDF.
- Find and replace across the tree
- Searches or replaces within one node, a node and its subnodes, or every node, and can build a table of contents from headings.
TreeSheets
- Grids inside grids
- Any cell can hold its own sub-grid, so data nests to any depth while keeping a spreadsheet-like layout of rows and columns.
- Shrinking and zooming
- Text size is relative to nesting depth, cells can shrink to a pixel per character, and the mouse wheel zooms into a nested grid to make it readable.
- Automatic layout
- Cells resize to fit their content after every edit, and a column-width setting controls how the text in a cell wraps.
- Images in cells
- An image can be added to any cell and is stored as part of the document file, then copied to other cells in the sheet.
- Import, export and indented text
- Documents export to XML, HTML or text and import from XML. Pasting text indented by hierarchy level rebuilds that structure as a tree.
- Small footprint
- The author reports about 5 MB of memory on Windows 7 with several documents loaded, so it can stay in the system tray.
Plans
CherryTree
CherryTree$0
The full app as a Windows installer or portable archive, Linux packages (PPA, .deb, AppImage, Flatpak, Snap) and a macOS installer.
TreeSheets
TreeSheets$0
The full app for Windows, macOS and Linux, with Debian packages, AppImages and a Flatpak for Linux.
